Cotton output anticipated to reach record at 25mn bales
12 Aug '05
1 min read
The world's third-largest producer of cotton, India is anticipating cotton output to reach a record level at 25 million bales this year, due to appropriate weather, more land for crop and higher use of genetically developed seeds.
In the year 2004, India registered nearly 23.5 million bales of 170 kg each, the highest output ever.
Delayed rains at the time of sowing in June in particular regions and recent floods in parts of western India hard hit crops to some extent, however overall scenario seems favorable, said traders.
India holds world's largest land for cotton crop, which has risen 5 to 7 percent this year from about 9 million hectares last year, as many farmers shifted from paddy and tobacco, with a hope for higher profits, traders said.
Due to the growing popularity of genetically developed cotton, yields were expected to be better this year. The portion of transgenic cotton has been anticipating at nearly 90 percent of total crop in Gujarat, which is country's largest cotton producer.